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same way as on Earth. Also, because a person’s muscles are not used
for walking, standing, or moving (it’s all that floating around they do!),
those muscles can become weaker. To prevent this, the astronauts all
have to work out every day.
They use a special exercise bicycle or a treadmill. To walk on the
treadmill, they have to be strapped in. They can also use a machine
that simulates weightlifting. It uses hydraulics to provide resistance
in the same way weights work on Earth.
All this working out is one long experiment . . . but it also makes
the astronauts feel pretty good, too.
The things that humans can learn from science in space are
almost as wide and varied as space itself. The work of talented and
brave scientists-turned-astronauts is changing our views of the world
and making life better now and in the future. Anyone interested in
just about any science can look to the stars for their possible future
laboratory!
Text-Dependent Questions
1. Why doesn’t fire burn in space outside a space station?
2. How did mice react to living in zero gravity?
3. What was the name of the first space station?
Research Project
Students have contributed several experiments to NASA. Can you
think of and research a new experiment that could be done in space?
What do you hope to learn from this experiment?